TNF Presidents

Peter White, MBE was appointed President of the Talking News Federation in 2005 following his very successful workshop at the first TNF National Conference. Since 1971, Peter has worked in British broadcasting and his visual impairment has led to him presenting a number of programmes for blind people including ‘In Touch’ where he worked to make blind associations more answerable to their clients. He has also presented and edited Channel 4’s disability programme ‘Same Difference’ from 1987 to 1989 which led to him becoming presenter and producer of Central Television’s magazine show for disabled people ‘Link’ until 1991. Peter’s career progressed when in 1995 he became the first totally blind person to produce reports for TV news when he was appointed as the BBC’s Disability Affairs Correspondent. He was also part of the reporting team for BBC News at the 2008 Beijing Games. As well as being a broadcaster, Peter has written two books: ‘Being Blind’ published in 1998 and his autobiography ‘See it My Way’ in 1999, in which he tells of his experiences with humour and passion. Awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting in 1988, Peter was also awarded the Sony Speech Broadcaster of the Year in 2001.

Mike Wood was appointed TNF Vice President in 2016 but has been a trustee of the Swindon & District Talking Newspaper Association since 1984. Over the years, Mike has created the Talking News Federation, carrying out all roles within the TNF at one time or another. He was the founder Chairman of TNF, standing down in 2012 when he was appointed Vice President for the first time. He returned to the role of Chair back in 2015 for a year before resuming as Vice President in 2016. Mike continues to play a key role and works closely with the other TNF Trustees to lead the charity forward as innovation continues to help blind and visually impaired people lead more inclusive lives.